


Room For One More Troubled Soul

by butyoumight



Category: Kamen Rider Gaim, 烈車戦隊トッキュウジャー | Ressha Sentai Tokkyuuger
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-22 02:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 15,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1572938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butyoumight/pseuds/butyoumight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>I'm outside the door, invite me in so we can go back and play pretend</i>. 30 Day OTP challenge for Kouta/Right. Not necessarily canon compliant, but not necessarily completely non-canon either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1 - Holding Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Title and summary lyrics from _Alone Together_ by Fall Out Boy.

It really was a beautiful night. The weather was nice, one of those perfect spring evenings where you can almost really feel like summer is coming. Though he'd been out of school for a few years, it still felt good, summer still felt like a time of freedom. 

Kouta could use some freedom. 

He'd had his window open to appreciate the warm breeze, that was how Kouta had heard the whistle coming from what must have been a mile away. Or something like it, considering he wasn't sure these trains traveled distance the way normal trains did. Obviously, because there weren't tracks in the middle of the street in front of their apartment complex, but that was where the train pulled up. 

His sister was already in bed, but Kouta still scrawled her a quick note to let her know he'd gone out, so she wouldn't worry if they didn't get back before she woke up for work. Then he grabbed the bag he kept his Driver in (just in case), and dashed outside to meet Right. 

This train was different from the other ones, the bright ones they'd ridden on when Kouta had first met his new friend. This one was dark red, and bigger, like an old freight train instead of one of the passenger trains that came and went at the station. This train didn't have a gate, either, so he didn't need the orange and white pass Mai had returned to him after Right and the others had left, but he still carried it with him everywhere. 

Right called this train jiichan, and Kouta never thought to question it. 

Right threw his arms around Kouta as soon as he stepped into the street, and Kouta felt a massive part of his strain over the past few days melt away, as quick as anything. Right had that effect on him. 

“You always know.” He muttered, half to himself, and Right pulled back with a wide grin, holding Kouta at arm's length.

“Know?”

“When to come get me.” 

Right laughed, squeezing Kouta's arms and then shifting one hand to grasp Kouta's carefully, threading their fingers together and tugging him over to the open and waiting door of the train. “Friends come when friends need them.” He said with a bit of a serious tone that, while not _entirely_ unfamiliar, coming from Right without an enemy to be facing down, it still felt a bit out of place. 

Right was so happy all the time. Kouta wondered if _he'd_ ever been that happy. Maybe before his parents died. Or maybe even after- when Yuuya had first approached him about starting a dance team, or after that even, when despite conflict between the teams, it always ended with a simple fist fight and then a communion of bandaging and no hard feelings. It was almost friendly, the conflicts back then. Once Gaim and Raid Wild had even teamed up to defend their neighboring stages, and Hase had taught Kouta how to wrap his knuckles with tape beforehand, to make sure only the other guys' skin broke. 

Yuuya. Hase. This was happening more and more lately, Kouta would get lost in thoughts that he couldn't find his way out of, depressing hurts that seemed to get heavier every day. 

“Kouta?” Right jogged his arm a bit, squeezing his hand tight, drawing him out of his dark thoughts. “Are you okay? You want me to have jiichan turn around?”

Kouta turned his head, and realized that the train had pulled away from the apartment sometime while he'd been lost in thought. 

“Oh. No, it's okay.” Kouta muscled up a weary smile for Right.

“Cool.” Right's smile in return was so full of life and light that it made up for Kouta's lackluster expression. “We won't be long. Come on,” Right didn't let go of Kouta's hand, he just tugged and headed down the train, and Kouta followed in his wake. 

Between two cars of the massive diesel train, there was a ladder. The train must not be moving very fast, because Kouta didn't feel terribly concerned about falling off as Right finally let go of his hand and swung out onto the access ladder. “Come on!” He called as he climbed, and Kouta felt a slightly more natural grin start to tug at the corners of his mouth.

As Kouta reached the top of the ladder, he looked across the top of the train. Right stood confidently, feet planted, hands on his hips, his eyes closed and his head tilted back. The slow travel of the train still provided enough wind to make Right's hair blow back off his face, and the moon was bright and nearly full, illuminating his blissful expression.

Kouta rolled out onto the roof after Right. It took him a moment longer to adjust to the way this felt different from standing _inside_ the train, but soon he was striding as confidently and comfortably across the open roof as Right did. He felt like the train trusted him, and so he had to trust the train, too. 

“Do you do this a lot?” Kouta asked. He had to raise his voice a little to be heard over the sounds of the train moving along the tracks. 

Right opened his eyes and looked down to meet Kouta's gaze, then reached for his hand again, once more casually threading their fingers together. Right's hand felt warm, and as that warmth spread up Kouta's arm, he felt a little more of his tension fade away into the background.

Right moved along the length of the car a bit before stopping right around the middle and dropping immediately to sit down, his legs kicking up a bit to counterbalance as he rocked backwards, then flopping down to stretch out in a wide V. 

“Sit.” Right tugged insistently on his arm, and Kouta sort of knew naturally how exactly Right wanted him to sit. He was a little more graceful as he lowered himself first into a crouch and then settling back between Right's legs, leaning his back against Right's chest. 

Right's arm stretched around him, still holding onto his hand. 

As they settled in, the train traveled slowly around and through Zawame, giving them an incredible view of the city all lit up. It was getting late, so there weren't a lot of people around, and most of them didn't seem to see the train, even if it lay the tracks and their accompanying white line right down in front of them. Still, even those adults would stop at the white line and wait for the train to pass, and if Kouta leaned forward and watched them fade into the distance, a lot of them shook their heads, as if they weren't quite sure why they'd stopped moving in the first place. That made Kouta smile, a natural smile that for once felt comfortable on his face. 

“Hey, Kouta.” Right's voice was soft, Kouta thought he could feel it more than really hear it, in the vibration of Right's chest against his back, in the touch of his warm breath against Kouta's neck as he rested his chin on Kouta's shoulder. “I'll always come when you need me. Even if you don't know it. Okay?”

Kouta nodded once. “Okay. But, hey, Right?”

“Yeah?”

“If you need me... I can't find you all the time, but if you need me, you can come get me, too. Okay?” 

Right laughed a little, but it wasn't a mean or dismissive laugh at all. “Of course, Kouta. That's what friends do.”


	2. Day 2 - Cuddling

There was a sleeping car, way in the back of Diesel. The doorway at the far end, the exit, opened to the outside, to where Diesel linked up with Tank. 

Right thought it was pretty nice, that even the train they didn't use as much had all the necessary facilities. Well, mostly. When he took these trips, just him and jiichan and the other two, to spend time with Kouta, he couldn't exactly bring Wagon or her cart along. But it hadn't yet come up as a problem. 

The lights in the sleeping car were dim, but not completely off. It wasn't entirely dark, which was good, because Right... 

Right wasn't much a fan of the dark. And he had every reason not to be! Darkness was what he was trying to fight, after all, him and his friends.

He included Kouta in that list, mentally- his friends. Kouta might not be fighting Darkness in the exact same way the ToQgers were, but he was definitely fighting, and the things he was fighting against were definitely dark. 

Darker, maybe, even, than the Shadow Line. Pretty impressive, but Right never told Kouta that, partly because he didn't want it to be taken the wrong way, partly because he figured Kouta pretty much knew already anyway. 

At any rate, that was why Right kept the lights on in the sleeping car, even as he sat down on the edge of one of the bunks, pulling Kouta closer before flopping back and tugging Kouta down on top of him. 

Kouta didn't resist much, Right wasn't even sure if he was entirely _here_ , here. 

He was crying, a little. It had started almost as soon as they'd gotten on the train. His eyes were all red and too shiny, uncomfortable-shiny, full of tears shiny. And his cheeks were just a little bit wet. 

It was awful, really. Right didn't _want_ to imagine what all it would take to get Kouta looking like that. It made him sad enough, even without knowing all the specifics. 

He wrapped one arm around Kouta's waist, and put the other hand on the back of Kouta's neck. He made sure their legs were completely tangled and messy, and then he just held on. Held him together. Kept him safe. 

After a while, Kouta spoke. His voice was soft and hoarse. When he shifted his head just a little from where Right was holding him to his chest, Right could feel the damp spot Kouta's tears had left on his shirt.

“I just don't know what to do.” That was what Kouta was saying. “Everything's going wrong.”

“Hmm.” Right hummed slightly, the vibration of the sound blending seamlessly with the vibration of the train. “You're not giving up before you've started, are you?”

Kouta shook his head just a little, and took a breath that made his whole body shudder as it caught in his throat. 

“I thought things were getting better, Right, I really did. That guy... Takatora... I thought he and I saw eye to eye. You know? I thought we were going to work together, save the world together!”

“And you can't anymore?”

“Something went wrong. Something I don't know about. He... It's like he changed his mind. So quickly.” 

“I don't really get it, but... Hey, Kouta?” 

Kouta made a miserable little sound, but it sounded like it ended like a question, so Right took the opportunity.

“Do you think of him as a friend?”

Kouta groaned again, turning his head to bury his face against Right's chest. Right felt Kouta's hand grasp handfuls of his shirt and hold on, and he moved his arm from around Kouta's waist so he could pat his back gently.

“Sorry. I didn't mean it to be that hard of a question!”

“It's not.” Kouta responded quickly with a little huff. “No, you're right.”

“Usually.” Right let himself laugh just a little, and was happy to feel an answering chuckle catch in Kouta's chest too. 

“I do... Or, well, I wanted to. I thought we could. Become friends...”

“Then you have to trust him.” Right said swiftly, before Kouta could say anything more and jinx the possibilities. “That's what friends are for, Kouta. You trust me, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“And you trust Mai-chan?”

“Well, yeah.” 

“And so, even if one of us did something really weird, something you didn't understand. Could you trust that it's the right thing?” 

“But you and Mai, if you did something, you'd tell me. He wasn't even... he wasn't even talking... I don't even really know him yet.”

Right tilted his head down, pressing his face into Kouta's hair and sighing a little at the tickle. “I don't really get that either. But I get you, Kouta. If you really believe in him, if you really want his help... You just have to see it. Remember?”

Kouta sighed again, shifting a bit. He couldn't get far, with his legs all tangled up with Right's still, but he did manage to slide to one side, off Right's chest, and press his face into his shoulder instead. 

“The image of us working together, huh?”

“Of course! It's easy, right?”

Kouta hummed slightly, thinking about the concept. Then he sighed and lightly butted his head against Right's shoulder. “Will you help me?”

“You bet I will. Any time. All the time.” Right brought the hand that was still resting on Kouta's neck up a little, threading his fingers in his hair instead and scratching idly, rubbing at the tension in the top of Kouta's neck with his fingertips. 

“Hey, Kouta?”

“Yeah?”

Right pursed his lips up at the bottom of the bunk above them, then barreled full-speed ahead anyway. “When's the last time you slept?”

Kouta really laughed at that, but it was still kind of sickly and disjointed, like he wasn't used to laughing anymore. “Um, properly? As in, not just knocked unconscious? I guess it was more than a day ago.” 

“Got it. In that case, you definitely need to sleep.”

“Are we going back already, then?” Kouta huffed a little, but looking up, he caught Right shaking his head. 

“No way. You're gonna sleep right here with me, where I can keep an eye on you.”


	3. Day 3 - Video Games

Kouta peered out of the window of Diesel, then turned to look at Right with one eyebrow raised quizzically. “Why are we stopping?”

Right skipped closer, swinging one long arm around Kouta's shoulders and dragging him along to the doors as Diesel slowed to a stop with a long screech of brakes. 

“Because I thought it would be fun if we got off the train a bit. On the other train, me and my friends, we stop all the time, and not just to fight Shadows. Sometimes just to have fun. So, that's what we're doing. Having fun. We both deserve it!” 

“Fun, huh?” The doors opened automatically with a hydraulic whoosh, and Kouta blinked out into the neon-bright street. “So where are we?”

Right actually shrugged, so sharply that his arm around Kouta's shoulders pulled in tighter and Kouta found himself half-stumbling a step closer to Right. He found himself chuckling softly and shaking his head. “Jiichan's been everywhere, he knows all the best places to go. So I trust him!”

“Wait.” Kouta hauled back on Right's arm as Right tried to move forward and exit the train. “You let the train pick where we went?”

Right turned to meet Kouta's eyes, and his eyebrows gathered together with a confused little frown.

“Well, yeah.” His lower lip protruded again, and Kouta realized slowly that Right was _pouting_ at him. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“Um.” Kouta shook his head sharply, if just to get that borderline devastated look off Right's face. It was sure dangerous, almost as bad as when Micchi pouted... Maybe even worse. “No, no, I didn't mean it was wrong, or bad. I just meant...”

“Meant what?” Now Right's eyebrows were tilting the other direction, and he was looking down at Kouta as if he were looking up at him. It was a little disorienting, and Kouta was confused enough by how their conversation had gotten so drastically off track (and he really didn't mean that train pun, he _really_ didn't, but he found them creeping into his inner monologue whenever Right was around)... 

The train shifted, like it was going to start moving again, and between Right putting all of his focus on staring Kouta down for his perceived... insult? Confusion? Whatever it was- And Kouta being distracted trying to find the right way to explain himself... Not to mention the two of them pretty firmly linked still by Right's arm around the back of Kouta's neck... 

The train shifted, just a bit, but it was enough for both of them to lose their balance and go toppling out the open doors and onto the ground. 

Diesel's whistle blew loudly, almost like it was annoyed with them, and before Kouta could disentangle himself from Right and stand up, the doors had already closed and moved away. 

“Wait!” Kouta called, scrambling to his feet. “Hold on!” He spun around to stare down at Right. “Where is it going?”

“I guess Jiichan didn't like you not trusting his recommendation.” Right said cheerfully, rolling to his own feet and tossing his arm around Kouta again. He missed Kouta's shoulders and so settled for settling his arm around Kouta's waist instead. 

Kouta stared around the street they were standing on, waiting for someone to say... something. Anything, about how inappropriate it was. But if the sudden appearance of two boys being very physically familiar with each other was surprising to the people around them in any way, they weren't bothering to show it. 

For his part, Right seemed, as usual, completely oblivious to the potential awkwardness of his actions, and instead headed off down the street, dragging Kouta along with him. 

“Right?”

“Huh?” Right kept going, looking around curiously as they went. 

“Is the train going to come back for us?”

“Of course!” Right laughed and shook his head. “Don't worry about that. Jiichan'll have you back in Zawame with plenty of time! But for now, can't we just have fun, Kouta? Please?” 

He was making the face again, that face like a dog that was being denied a treat. It was a killer, that look, and Kouta melted against Right's side. “Of course we can have fun. What did you have in mind?”

Right brightened immediately and pointed across the street. Kouta gave him a skeptical glance.

“An arcade?”

“I don't remember ever being to one. But it's fun, right? Games?”

The reminder of Right's amnesia, his lack of any memory of most of his past, sent Kouta into a brief but very wracking moment of guilt at how insensitive he was being, when all Right wanted was just to have some fun, and share some fun with him.

Really, what kind of friend was he, worrying about what people would think when Right didn't even remember his own last name?

“Yeah, it's fun. Do you have money?”

Right pulled something out of his pocket and waved it at Kouta, a wide grin spreading across his face. It was his Pass, the blue-and-white one that was on his belt when he was transformed.

“Is that... Can you use that for money?” Kouta asked, briefly skeptical again. 

“I have to pay it back by working on the train, but it's okay. I like cleaning! And it's worth it, definitely worth it.” 

Kouta nodded slowly, then found a slow smile stretching across his face. “So, you want to go to the arcade?”

Right nodded his head firmly and rapidly, and Kouta realized that he was laughing softly too.

He could get used to this, really. Right showing up every few nights to take him away from all the trouble in Zawame. 

He resolved to make these visits as good for Right as he thought they were for him, and with that promise to himself in mind, he shifted, grabbing Right's hand and tugging him along towards the arcade Right had first pointed out.

“We won't stop at this one, then! There's probably a few in a neighborhood like this. And dinner!”

“Alright!” Right bounced along in Kouta's wake for a moment before falling into a comfortable skip that kept him right in pace with Kouta's smaller regular strides.


	4. Day 4 - On a Date

It had been weeks, now, weeks that Right had kept showing up in Zawame to spend time with Kouta. It was important to him, to spend time with his friends, and he spent pretty much _all_ of his time with his friends who were also ToQgers, but he had to scrape for his time with Kouta. 

Kouta was a special friend, in a number of ways. Right liked being with him, sure, but he liked being with all of his friends. 

Right liked especially being _close_ to Kouta. Physically. And that made him special in a way, though not unique, because Right often felt that way about Hikari too, even though he rarely made overtures in that direction. He didn't think Hikari appreciated it as much as he knew Kouta did.

The thing that really made Kouta unique, aside from all of that stuff, was that Kouta was a current friend. A new friend. A friend Right had made as an adult, and actually remembered all of their interactions.

It was nice, he reflected on it often, usually the nights where he _didn't_ hop on Jiichan and ride to Zawame. He would lie in his bunk, or sit out in the dining car, and he'd think about all the time he'd spent with Kouta, and how nice it was to just be able to think about something and know how it had gone, how it had ended, how he had felt during and after. 

He didn't let it get to him often, their amnesia. They all had to deal with it, and they were all doing just fine even despite it, or maybe purposefully _in_ spite of it. But still, it bothered them, in their own ways, that they couldn't remember growing older. They couldn't remember becoming adults. 

It bothered Right mostly because he couldn't remember... If they had drifted apart. People did- grown up adults didn't necessarily stay friends with their childhood friends. He knew that much. And the idea that what his amnesia was hiding from him was that maybe they hadn't even seen much of each other anymore until this fight against the Shadow Line had thrown them all together... 

It made him shudder, and he scowled briefly before he shook himself all over like a dog fresh out of a bath, and he let himself relax, let his face relax into a happy grin as the door to Drupers opened and Kouta stepped outside, shrugging into his jacket. 

Right refused to reign in his expression as he watched Kouta's face shift from a serious focus thoughtful look to a more relaxed look of mildly surprised wonder, and then at last the pure joy that Right was waiting for. 

For all the times Right had come by, it had mostly been at night. That made the most sense, because at night they were usually just traveling, plus it was easier to sneak off the train and onto Jiichan instead. And that was fine! Kouta hadn't complained any, since it was only every couple of days, they were still both getting plenty of sleep, at least that was Right's theory.

But sometimes he still wanted to spend some not-clandestine-night-time time with Kouta, and that was the idea today. He'd had to talk Kagura into covering for him, but seeing as he was coming to Zawame, that had been pretty easy- he'd just had to promise to bring her a sampler of cakes from Charmant. He'd have to do that after he dropped Kouta off at home, though, because he knew Kouta didn't really go for their cake. 

He wasn't entirely sure why, though. 

That was a few hours from now, though. Now, Kouta had just left Drupers and Right was waiting for him with his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face.

Kouta moved closer, and Right dashed forward to meet him half-way, greeting him with his usual crushing hug. “Kouta!” 

“Hey, Right!” Kouta laughed a little, and it made Right feel good all over just to hear him sounding so relaxed. Things must be going well here in Zawame, much better than they had been recently, maybe. “What are you doing here?” He didn't add _during the daytime_ but Right knew he was thinking it pretty hard. 

“I have a plan!” Right informed him casually, peeling himself off of Kouta and turning away, dragging at his arm- but not towards the train. Sensing that they didn't need him for now, Diesel blew his whistle and headed away, sure to come back as soon as Right needed him.

“We're staying in Zawame?” Kouta asked, following in Right's wake but turning his head to watch Diesel retreat. “What are we up to?”

Right laughed and flashed his Pass at Kouta again. “First, we're going to go shopping.”

“Shopping?” Kouta rolled his eyes a little. “What for?”

“For food!” Right rolled his eyes right back at Kouta, with a little more intensity. “What else?”

“I should have known. Then what are we going to do?”

“We're going to cook the food, and have dinner, and it's going to be awesome.”

“Ehh...” Kouta grinned at him and shook his head. “Are you saying you're coming to my house to cook for me?”

“Well, you have to help.” Right smirked at him and shifted from a brisk walk into a proper skip, which made Kouta have to nearly jog to keep up and keep Right from tearing his arm off. 

“Hey, Right...” He half-muttered as they moved along. Right stared around the street as they traveled, seeking out a grocery store, or something like it. 

“What's up?”

“Is this... a date?” 

Right stopped so suddenly that Kouta dashed right past him and Right had to haul back on his arm to keep him from falling over. 

“What?”

“A date? Are you... Is this a date?” 

Right blinked at Kouta curiously, trying to read the look on his face. It didn't look upset... Just confused and... Maybe...

Maybe hopeful, Right hoped that wasn't just _his_ hopeful reflecting off Kouta's face. 

“Do you want it to not be?”

“I didn't say that!” Kouta shook his head sharply, and Right felt his face ache with the width of his smile. 

“Really?”

“I... No. I mean, yes. Really. I... I don't mind. If it's a date. I just wanted to know if that's what it was for you, too.”

Right nodded, and tugged Kouta into yet another crushing hug. “It's a date!”


	5. Day 5 - Kissing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part takes place directly after Day 4.

It didn't end up being so much a date as maybe they had both been hoping for, but it was okay. The look on Kouta's sister's face when they entered the apartment weighed down with bags of groceries, far more than they'd ever need for just one meal even with Right as one of the people being fed, had made everything completely and totally worth it, in Right's not so humble opinion. 

Introductions had skirted towards being incredibly awkward at first, but once they all got cooking together, it turned out alright. Kouta's sister kept saying how polite and well-mannered Right was, and then as soon as she'd turn away Right would grin at Kouta and wish that his other friends were here, especially Mio. Because Akira was totally right! He _was_ really polite and well-mannered! When he wanted to be. 

Logically, if that word could ever _really_ be applied to Right's thought processes, he knew that he should probably have left after dinner. He did still have to stop at Charmant before he headed back, and it was already getting dark. But he wasn't ready to leave yet. He was enjoying too much the happiness on Kouta's face. 

So after Akira had volunteered to clean up after dinner (“It's the least I could do, Right-kun, really.”), Kouta suggested they take a walk instead. Probably Kouta just wanted to spend some more time alone with Right, and Right really couldn't deny him that. 

“I really like your city, Kouta.” Right said, slowing down as they walked over the bridge-like overpass in the center of town. Turning slowly on the spot, you could see pretty much the whole city. Every time Right caught a glimpse of the strangely shaped Yggdrasill Tower out of the corner of his eye, it gave him a moment of pause. It reminded him of the tree from his home, that one clearest memory they all still had, they all tried to hold on to. Their secret base. 

“Yeah.” Kouta agreed softly, leaning back against the guardrail. “I like it here, too. It's my home, but there's more to it than that.”

“It's different, huh.” Right mused, moving closer to stand beside Kouta, close enough that their arms pressed together. The sun was rolling on the horizon, it was going to be night soon. Right really had to get himself together and call Jiichan back already. But Kouta's arm was so warm against his, and the evening air felt so nice, and for once the coming darkness didn't feel like a dangerous blanket threatening to suffocate him. For once, it just felt like a shining night-time- and he didn't want to be alone.

He knew that, once he got back to the train, he _wouldn't_ be alone. His friends would be there. If he asked any of them to stay up with him, they would, without question. Even if he didn't want to ask anyone, it wasn't as though Wagon slept. There was always someone around.

Kouta was different. 

“Different?” Kouta asked quietly, turning his head to peer up at Right's profile. Right kept his eyes on the way the setting sunlight glinted off the ring around Yggdrasill Tower. 

“Just having here, to defend. I know it's not any better or worse, what you have to deal with. Your part of the world you have to save. But having a home to come back to, even if it's home that's under the greatest threat.”

Kouta let out a little sigh, and nodded. “I'm sorry, Right.” 

Right blinked and turned to look down at Kouta. “For what?”

The question seemed to startle Kouta a little, like he wasn't sure why Right would demand an explanation for an apology. Right figured Kouta probably apologized for a lot of stuff that wasn't actually his fault. 

“I dunno.” Kouta admitted at last. “I guess I'm sorry that you don't know where your home is.”

“I've got the trains.” Right said carefully. “And my friends. They're a good home. But they're not where-I-grew-up home. Not at all.” He pursed his lips as he thought through his next statement. “I know what we're doing is important, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Not even to have my memories back. And that's not what I'm fighting for, either. But going from place to place all the time, you start to feel-”

“Just a little disconnected.” Kouta agreed.

“Rootless.” Right shook his head and found a grin deep inside himself, showing it off for Kouta. 

“You always do that.” Kouta said, poking a finger at Right's cheek. “Manage to smile even when we're talking about the most serious stuff.”

“You've just gotta keep smiling, and know that it'll work out. We're not at our final stop yet, so I can't give up hope.”

“And how am I supposed to know when my final stop is?” Kouta chuckled softly, shaking his head. “It's more like I'm standing on the platform, waiting for my train to come still. Or every time the train stops, it's at the same station.”

Right shook his head, throwing an arm around Kouta's shoulders and shaking him firmly. “You're not giving yourself enough credit. Maybe all the stations look the same, but you're still making progress, I'm sure of that. Full speed ahead!” 

As if to punctuate his words, a whistle blew in the distance. Right winced a little. Even Jiichan knew he was pushing his luck, staying gone this long, only... 

That was definitely not Jiichan's whistle, now that he thought about it. And as it blew again, closer this time, Right blanched a bit. That was Red Ressha's whistle. 

“Oh.” He said, and a warmth crept into his cheeks, just a little bit of blush. Kouta looked up at him curiously, then tilted his head and looked down the bridge to where- Yep, there was Red Ressha, laying track right towards them. “I've been found out.” 

Kouta's eyes widened. “You weren't even supposed to be here!” 

Right spread his arms helplessly. “Not... Well, I wasn't _not_ supposed to be here! Jiichan can go wherever he wants, if I just so happen to be with him-” 

Kouta rolled his eyes, as Red Ressha slid to a stop in front of them, and the turnstile gate rose out of the ground to match the doors. 

The doors slid open, and it was Tokacchi standing there. Could be worse, he wouldn't have to be yelled at by Mio... Yet. Not in front of Kouta, anyway, thank goodness. 

“Right!” Tokacchi waved both arms widely in a beckon. “There's a Shadow. We need you!”

“Ah!” Right turned to grab Kouta's hand really quickly and pull him closer. He intended for it to be a hug good-bye, only he missed, or maybe Kouta dodged wrong, and they ended up face-to-face instead, lips pressed together. 

Everything stopped- for just a second. Right didn't hear Tokacchi's squeak of surprise, nor did he see the way he whipped his glasses off and started furiously cleaning them on the end of this tie, like he wasn't supposed to be seeing what he was seeing right now. He didn't notice the way Red Ressha's whistle went off again, or how, from somewhere deeper inside the train, he could hear Ticket screeching bloody murder over how Right was making them wait.

No, because the angle of his head, tucked down and protectively, the feel of Kouta's hand on his hip, and the warmth that was building between them just now- all of that was fathoms more important than one stupid measly Shadow.

With this, Right thought as he finally broke contact with Kouta and leaned back just a little, his smile growing wider as Kouta blinked, a little dazed and with a goofy smile of his own on- with this, that Shadow couldn't dream of standing a chance. 

“I gotta go.” Right whispered quickly. Kouta nodded slowly, and then- nope, there they went again, he tugged Right down for another quick peck. 

“Go. I'll be here.” 

“Thanks, Kouta. For everything.” Right finally managed to peel himself off of Kouta, and he scrabbled to place his Changer on his wrist and smack his Pass on the turnstile as he dashed for the train. 

“What the heck is the meaning of any of this!?” Ticket was squealing, leaning imperiously over Tokacchi's shoulder now. Right shoved his hand against Ticket's mouth as he reached for the Ressha in his inside pocket.

“Don't worry about it. Full speed ahead!”


	6. Day 6 - In Each Other's Clothes

The day had started off normal enough, Kouta thought, especially now that he had a job again, so there was that kind of extra bit of balance and routine to his days. He still spent plenty of time, usually once a day, dashing to some distant locale to deal with some Inves. Sometimes it was because Mai or someone else from the team called him, sometimes it was Zack on the phone. Once it had been a member of Raid Wild whose name Kouta could never remember, though he certainly felt badly about it. And one time, strangely, it had been Jounouchi. Still, everyone called Kouta when they needed help with Inves, and Bandou-san remained understanding every time he had to take off. The safety of Zawame meant a lot to Bandou-san too.

He wasn't on his way to deal with Inves this time, though. He was riding along the waterfront, making a delivery for Drupers. What he _didn't_ expect, what he had no reason to expect, was a body- no, a _person_ lying face-down in the shallows. It could have been anyone and Kouta would have felt responsible, but this wasn't just anyone floating there. 

It was Right. 

Kouta left the bike and the basket behind, and struggled to pull out his phone as he dashed down to the waterfront. Drupers was in his speed dial now, and so he managed to get it ringing. 

Tucking his phone up against his ear with his shoulder, he set to tugging Right out of the water and rolling him over onto his back. The water that soaked his coat and ran from his face ( _and his mouth_ , which made Kouta's stomach churn for a moment) was _freezing_ , surprisingly so considering the season. 

“ _This is Drupers._ ”

“Ah, Iyo-chan? It's Kouta. Can I talk to Bandou-san?”

“ _Sure._ ” 

As Iyo-chan passed the phone off, Kouta let himself focus on Right for a second. His eyes were closed, and there was a nasty bruise on his cheek, but he was breathing and when Kouta pressed his fingers to Right's throat, he felt his pulse- maybe a little slow, but strong. So he wasn't dead. 

“ _Kouta?_ ” 

“Hi, Bandou-san. I've got a situation, I'm not going to be able to finish the delivery. Can you send Iyo-chan with a second? I'll pay for it.”

“ _Don't worry about it, Kouta. Accidents happen. Is it Inves?_ ”

Right's whole body spasmed a bit, a deep choking cough traveled up his chest and some more water spilled out of his mouth and nose. Kouta winced. “Yeah.” He answered Bandou-san. He was lying, but he needed to get off the phone _now_. 

“ _No problem, Kouta. See you when you get back._ ” 

Kouta sighed with relief. “Thanks!” Hanging up the phone and shoving it back into his pocket, he was then able to put all of his attention on Right. 

Right was _shivering_ , long bouts of tremors running through him. And his lips were kind of blue. Kouta bit his lip, considering for a moment, then tugged Right closer to him, shifting him up enough to get his coat, and then his shirt off. He untied the shirt around Right's waist for good measure. Setting all of those things aside, he shrugged out of his own coat and put it around Right's shoulders, fastening the top button so it stayed in place when he lie Right back down. 

Right made a soft noise, but it sounded significantly less pained than the cough earlier. He seemed to have finally finished coughing up all the water he'd inhaled. That was a good sign.

Kouta turned to spread Right's clothes out. It wasn't terribly hot today, but it was sunny. He hoped they'd dry out. He couldn't do anything about Right's jeans, though. 

As he carefully arranged Right's coat so it was as spread open as it would get, he happened to feel a hard rectangular shape in the pocket. He drew it out, knowing mostly on instinct what it was, and sure enough, he held Right's Pass in his hand.

Theoretically, having been soaked, it shouldn't work, but when he turned it over, the screen that made up the back lit up just like a phone.

On a whim, he fiddled with the screen a bit until it gave him a list of contacts. Considering for a moment, he pressed the third one down the list. It started to ring and he held it to his ear. 

“ _Right!?_ ”

“Ah, no, sorry. Is this Hikari?”

“ _Who else would it be? Who is this?_ ”

“Sorry, sorry. It's Kazuraba Kouta. From Zawame City?”

Right made another sound, this one less of a groan and more of a moan. And he rolled over onto his side, curling up a little bit. At least he was moving. He seemed to be coming to, thankfully. 

“ _Kouta-kun? Why do you have Right's Pass?_ ”

“Well, he's here with me. He was in the water. I think he's going to be okay, but...”

“ _Yeah. That happened. We were fighting a Shadow, and Right got knocked away. We lost track of him... Look, Kouta-kun,_ ” Hikari's voice became strained and tense, and Kouta wasn't sure whether it was because he was distracted, or whether he just didn't particularly want to say his next words. “ _We're chasing that Shadow right now. We've almost got him... We can handle it without Right, but we don't..._ ” He hesitated, and heaved a heavy sigh that Kouta could practically feel on the other side of the call. “ _We don't have time to pick him up right now. Can he stay with you for a little while? Until we deal with this Shadow?_ ”

“Of course, Hikari, no problem.” 

Hikari sighed again, and Kouta thought this one was maybe a little closer to relieved than frustrated. 

“I'll let you go, so you can focus on the Shadow.” Kouta said uncertainly. 

“ _Great. Thank you, Kouta-kun. We owe you one._ ”

The call disconnected before Kouta could insist that it was the least a friend could do. Kouta frowned at the Pass for a moment, then sighed and tucked it into his pocket alongside his own phone. 

“Who was that?” 

Kouta nearly fell into the water himself. Right was curling slowly into a seated position, and his eyes were on Kouta and, more significantly, the hand Kouta had just used to put the Pass away. 

Right's voice sounded rough, but not terrible. His eyes were bright, and the color was coming back into his cheeks and lips. Kouta moved closer to him, putting an arm around him to support him. 

“Kouta?” 

“It was Hikari. I wanted to let them know you're okay.” He paused, and turned to look pointedly into Right's eyes. “ _Are_ you okay?” 

“I'll be alright.” Right grinned. It was a weary sort of smile, but there all the same. Kouta sighed with relief. “Are they coming for me?” 

“Not yet. They're chasing the Shadow that got you here in the first place.”

“Ah.” Right nodded thoughtfully. “That's good, then. They'll handle it.” 

“I'm sure they will. In the mean time... You think you can walk?”

Right blinked, a little surprised by the question, then shrugged. “I don't see why not.”

Kouta grinned and stood up, gathering up Right's clothes where they were starting to dry before turning back and offering his hand to Right to help him stand. “Our garage is near here. We can hang out there for now, okay?”

Right rose slowly to his feet, then leaned against Kouta, and Kouta put his arm around Right's waist. 

“Sounds good to me, Kouta.”


	7. Day 7 - Cosplay

Of all the places that he could take Kouta, all the places he _had_ taken Kouta, Right thought this one was kind of the best so far. 

The convention space was packed with people, and even when they happened upon a room that was less full than some of the others, it still _looked_ full of people, thanks to the varied costumes and all the props, some of them truly massive. Like that one Sephiroth that Right kept seeing all over the place with his impressively huge single-wing span. 

“Why'd you want to bring me here, anyway?” Kouta asked. Not that he wasn't enjoying it, at least Right hoped not. He was smiling, anyway, and he hadn't managed to put his phone back in his pocket even once, because he was too busy taking pictures of practically everyone who passed by in costume. 

“It's, uh.” Right grinned. “It's good for me. For my Imagination, you know?” 

Kouta raised an eyebrow at him. Right was almost certain that he could tell that Right was lying. Or bending the truth, anyway. He wasn't _really_ lying, certainly spending time doing imaginative things was good for one's imagination. 

The first picture Kouta had taken had been of Right. He was cosplaying too. It was kind of silly, but this whole adventure to the convention had been Kagura's idea in the first place, and she'd insisted, not just that he had to go in costume, but that he had to let her help him pick out the costume. Agreeing to that hadn't been so bad, it had been when Kagura then went and enlisted Mio's help as well, and Mio, knowing nothing about this, had dragged Tokacchi and Hikari along, and one of _them_ had ended up bringing Wagon and, in the end, all told, _that_ was how Right ended up in a skirt. 

The real question, for Right anyway, was where Kagura and Wagon had gotten all of these really elaborate costume pieces anyway. They'd even had a wig! Which was surprising, to say the least. Anyway, in the end, when he looked in the mirror in the bathroom, he didn't really look like himself unless he looked _really_ close. Mostly in the eyes, he thought.

Kouta had known it was him right off, though, as soon as Jiichan's doors opened to frame Right standing there, hip cocked. 

Kouta had fumbled his phone out of his pocket, taken three quick pictures, then practically physically picked his jaw up before stepping onto the train. 

Now here they were, and while Kouta was taking plenty of pictures of other people, he kept gravitating towards Right's side, and then being asked to step away so other people could take pictures _of Right_ , which surprised him a little bit. Probably it was the make-up. Or maybe how much of his legs were showing (a lot, for the record. Quite a lot of leg. It was a _very_ short skirt). Or... Really, he didn't know what it was that was drawing people to him like that. Maybe the character Kagura had picked was really popular. 

That must be it.

“Also, I just thought it would be fun. Or, well, Kagura thought it would be fun.”

Kouta blinked at him. “She should have come too.” 

“Oh, well. I should have invited her, shouldn't I?” Right pouted a little, and then immediately had a stranger ask him to make that exact expression for a photo. 

Turning back to Kouta after the photo was taken, he broke into a smile again. “It's okay, I can take her another time, right? I was asking...”

Under all the make-up, the foundation and everything, he started to blush. Of course, there was blush painted onto his cheeks, too, but this was different, it was a real blush. “I was asking her for advice.”

“Oh? What about?”

“Where to take you.” Right said, thinking that Kouta must be distracted if he'd lost the thread of the conversation that quickly. He leaned closer to Kouta. “For a date.”

“Oh!” Kouta was blushing now, too, and he looked away. “I didn't realize that was what this was.”

“Kind of to make it up, since the last time we tried to have a date-”

“The Inves...”

“And then a Shadow.” 

They met eyes and nodded solemnly for a moment. This courtship, if that was what it really was, was very difficult in many ways. The periodic monster attacks was just one of the many problems. 

Right was the first to look away after that with a little sigh, then he turned and watched with wide eyes as someone walked past- Cosplaying _him_. The coat was the same and he even had a home-made Changer on his wrist and everything. 

Someone touched his arm, and Right grabbed Kouta's sleeve. “Ne, Kouta, can you go get a picture of that guy? Please?” 

He pointed and Kouta's eyes widened. “It's you!”

“I know! That's why I want a picture! But...” A very small little girl was standing with her mother, and she was cosplaying a very small version of the same character Right currently was... And it was so sweet that he _had_ to pose for a picture with her. 

Kouta nodded and took off after the person wearing Right's coat. Right took the time to pose with the little girl, who was so excited that she ran off and her mother had to chase her.

Right grinned after them, then turned around to find a _very_ large young man, taller even than him, leaning over him. Very close. Very, very uncomfortably close.

“Hey, sweetheart.” The stranger put his hand on Right's shoulder, the bare one, he noticed, and gripped hard. There was a hint of danger in his eyes. This had left the realm of fun and imaginative very quickly, and now, more than anything else, Right was _angry_ that people like this even existed, making other people's fun their own time to be creepy. 

Right cleared his throat, about ready to disabuse this random guy of his obviously erroneous notion, when a mostly-orange blur arrived at his side. 

Kouta didn't even ask what was going on. He just punched the rude guy right in the jaw, hard, hard enough to make his teeth snap together so loud, some people stopped and stared at the scene.

Right looked around helplessly. This was not something he was expecting.

“Watch it!” Kouta snapped down at the guy who was now spread out on the floor, glowering, but wincing too. There was blood on his teeth when he growled, Right figured he might have bit his tongue when Kouta hit him. 

“What's this, your fucking boyfriend?” He snapped, his eyes still on Right.

But it was Kouta who answered. “Yeah, _he_ is!” 

The small circle of people that had gathered around them broke into spontaneous applause. Right's blush came back full force, and he found himself with his arm curled around Kouta's waist, and they both bowed as the creepy jerk scampered off. 

All in all, Right would call this date a success.


	8. Day 8 - Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place directly after Chapter 4: Day 4 - On A Date, and directly before Chapter 5: Day 5 - Kissing.

There were three grocery stores between Drupers and Kouta's apartment, at least the route he usually took home, and so it was easy enough to subtly shift Right's enthusiasm in the directions it needed to go.

“What were you planning on making?” Kouta asked as they entered the store. Right paused, squinting at the registers, and it took Kouta a moment to realize that he was checking to see if they accepted touch-pass payment. That was kind of important, actually. Luckily, they did. 

“I dunno! I don't really remember if I've ever cooked before. But I kind of have a feeling I must have. I mean, I eat a _lot_.”

“I remember.” Kouta smiled. Though he hadn't really been around many of Right's meal-times, it was kind of hard to forget how a friend or even an enemy had ever come close to shoving a fruit from Helheim into their mouth. 

Kouta'd had a nightmare, once, about a week before, about not getting there in time. Not stopping him. About Right becoming an Inves. Luckily, he'd woken up before he had to kill him. 

Unluckily, even in the wakefulness of early morning, he hadn't been entirely sure if he would have been able to do it anyway, even in a dream. 

“Kouta?” Right was several meters away, he had one hand on something on a shelf, but he was looking back at Kouta with his lips pursed into a frown and his eyebrows gathered together. A perfect mien of polite concern. “Is something wrong?”

“Sorry, sorry.” Kouta moved closer to him again and found it in himself to smile again. “Just lost in thought.”

“You do that a lot.” Right pointed out. “Oh well. I guess I get it, even if I don't really.” He laughed, and it was pretty cheerful. 

It also made Kouta's heart do a funny little back flip in his chest. 

When he finally shook himself back to reality (this was beginning to become a problem, he reflected, and it was _entirely_ mostly almost certainly Right's fault), he found that he had been following in Right's wake, not really assisting and probably not really participating in the conversation, for at least ten minutes. Meanwhile Right had filled up one arm basket, and him shoving the full basket into Kouta's arms was what had brought him back to earth in the first place. 

The problem was, he figured, that he was looking _forward_ too much. Past the shopping, to the getting home, and the cooking, and most importantly, the _date_. While he _was_ okay with it, that wasn't really a question and he hadn't been lying or even being remotely deceptive when he'd said he was okay with it, it was still...

Well, it was new for Kouta. 

He had to admit that even at a little more than twenty-one years old, Kouta had never actually _been_ on a date. And he wasn't entirely sure what it was supposed to entail...

But he was really letting himself get too caught up in all the whats and hows and whens and wherefores, and all of that, when it wasn't necessary at all. He firmly (but mentally, and silently) reprimanded himself. They were both in this together. As new as it was for Kouta, it was technically new for Right also, at least new for Right as of right now. That was amnesia for you.

_So calm yourself, Kazuraba Kouta_ , he thought with a little huff. _It'll all be fine. Just enjoy the ride._

“Right!” He rose his voice a little when Right came back with a second basket. “What all are you planning on _buying_?”

Right blinked down at him curiously, then shrugged both shoulders dramatically. “I dunno, whatever seems right. Why, did you have a suggestion?”

“Not really... But, hey, do you even know how to cook half of this stuff?”

Right's eyes crinkled up when he smiled. All the time, but it was _really_ noticeable this time. They practically disappeared. “That's what directions are for!”

“You really don't seem like the type of person to follow directions.” Kouta pointed out, but it came out at least half shaped like a laugh, and he couldn't keep his mouth from twitching into a smile. 

“That's what I've got you for, right Kouta?” Right smacked his arm, and then turned away and started sweeping even more things into his basket.

Kouta didn't even want to _know_ how much all of this was going to cost, but Right seemed completely unperturbed. 

Never mind... “Who's going to _eat_ all of this stuff, Right?”

“I eat a lot.” Right said distractedly, weighing two packages of rice in his hands. “And anything we don't eat, you and your sister can keep.”

Kouta's heart did the back flip again, and this time it continued into a head spin. 

“Right, that's too much.”

“Nope.” Right ended up shoving both packages of rice into his basket, then he hefted it up off the floor and gave Kouta yet _another_ wide smile. “It's just right, even if it might not be enough.”

“That doesn't even make sense...” Kouta trailed off as Right headed right past him, and, more importantly, right for the registers. 

“Come on, Kouta! Are we going to do this, or what?” 

Kouta gave a fond little sigh, then followed after him. 

“Yeah, we're gonna do this.”


	9. Day 9 - Hanging Out With Friends

“The idea is that it's a party!” Right enthused, trying really _really_ hard to get Kouta to understand this. That it was about more than just the two of them, that if this... thing that was happening between the two of them was going to progress anywhere, then their friends had to be on board with it.

He didn't remember much, and what he did remember came in slow fits and spurts and single, extremely detailed flashes of scenes, but he _knew_ , deep in his bones somehow, that if your friends didn't approve of the person you liked, then your relationship was _doomed_.

And Right really didn't like doom. He didn't believe in doom. He _wouldn't_ believe in doom.

He had a good feeling about this, anyway. His friends (at least he didn't have many to worry about!) had all met Kouta, and Mai and Micchi as well. So they weren't going into any of this blind. 

It was the rest of Kouta's friends that might be a problem. Maybe. Right didn't think so- after all, who could be friends with Kouta and not be _friendly_?

It was Kouta's idea that the party, if it were going to be such a thing, should take place at Gaim's garage. Right had been there a few times now, and he agreed, tentatively, on the argument that _'I love my friends, but it's true that they might not all be able to see the trains'_. 

It was _Right's_ idea that, if that were the case, they should probably arrive at the garage on foot. So Jiichan had pulled into Zawame's own actual train station, and they'd walked all the way to the garage. 

“Just be natural.” It was _not_ Right giving the advice. Hikari was the one speaking, walking backwards, his eyes sweeping across the whole group but lingering mostly on Right. “They know about a lot of things, but they don't need to know about _everything_. They have enough of their own problems. Okay?”

“We're just going to have a good time.” Right added, meeting Hikari's eyes briefly before Hikari turned around again. “I just want you guys to meet his friends, and his friends to meet you guys, and-”

“Right?” Kagura asked, tugging on his sleeve. “You really like Kouta-san, don't you? Like _really_?”

Right grinned at her, and he was even blushing a little. “I guess I do.”

Everyone that Kouta had invited was at the garage already when the ToQgers arrived. 

“Mai, and Micchi, you guys have met them. Everyone else, this is Hikari, Kagura, Mio, and Tokacchi. And Right, of course.” Kouta made the introductions with a big smile. “Everyone, this is Chucky and Rika, Rat, Zack and Peco, and Mia!”

For a moment everyone just stood there, looking at one another. It wasn't until Kouta had turned on some music that the tension sort of broke a bit, and the mingling started.

Micchi and Hikari moved into a corner. Kagura commandeered the table with Rika, Chucky, and Rat. Tokacchi got sort-of talking with Mia, though mostly they were just adjusting their glasses awkwardly at each other. Mio was discussing some sort of physical training regimen with Zack while Peco looked on with a grin and the occasional nod. 

Right and Kouta lingered closer to the door, up above all of their friends, leaning side by side against the railing.  
“They seem to be getting along.” Kouta said. There was a note of relief in his voice that made Right feel glad to know that he wasn't the only one worried about how this might have gone. “Though, you know, Right, it would have been okay if they didn't have anything in common, too.”

“I don't know.” Right shook his head. Kagura was tugging at Mia's arm now, and Rat had grabbed Tokacchi, and just like that, the Beat Riders were showing two of the ToQgers how to dance. Noticing this, Peco peeled away from Zack's side to join in. Zack touched Mio's arm gently and guided her out of the way of the dance space, sitting down instead at the table the now-dancers had abandoned. Micchi and Hikari were still sitting in the corner, and their conversation seemed to have taken a turn for the serious, but neither of them looked _upset_ , just very intent.

“Why not?” Kouta asked, cautiously putting a hand on the small of Right's back, up under his jacket. “I mean, how much time do you and me even have together, that our friends'... I mean, I know their opinions are important, but...”

“It just wouldn't seem right.” Right finally admitted to the ambiguity of his feelings. “After all of this is over, after we beat the Shadow Line and you deal with Helheim... I want us to be able to spend... More time together. And our friends will be an important part of that.”

Mai had dragged Micchi away from his conversation with Hikari, and Kagura was bouncing in place, holding Hikari's hand in both of hers, until he finally conceded and stood up, joining the dancing. He was pretty graceful, actually.

“It's just that right now, Kouta, my friends are... Almost all I have. If they didn't like you, what would that leave me with?”

“Just me, I guess. And I wouldn't want you to choose that either. You're right.”

He laughed then, and his hand flexed against Right's back a little harder, and he shifted to the side half a step till their hips were pressed together. Rather, Kouta's hip was pressed to Right's thigh. Close enough. Right put his arm around Kouta's shoulders, and then their sides were pressed together too.

“But it's okay, Right. See how well they're all getting along? So it worked out, either way. You can have your friends... And mine. And... And me.”

“That's all I want.”

The dancing stopped suddenly, and Mai dashed forward, standing just beneath them and looking up.

“Kouta, come on! It's a party, you can dance just this once!”

Kouta grinned, looking up at Right hopefully. 

“Shall we dance?”


	10. Day 10 - Wearing Animal Ears

Kouta had grown up in Zawame City. And before he met Right, he'd never been _out_ of Zawame City. It just wasn't the sort of city most people left, especially not at his age. That was kind of the idea, everyone had been told all those years ago when Zawame became the official site for all of the experimental foundations and infrastructures that Yggdrasill was supposed to bring, taking it from Zawame City to _Project City_ Zawame. 

Of course, it was all ridiculous, looking back. Yggdrasill had just wanted the shrine tree. Everything else, all the rest of it, was just to create this sort of buffer or moat around the epicenter of the Helheim invasion. 

The point being that Kouta hadn't left Zawame his entire life, until he met Right and Right started dragging him onto Diesel and taking him to completely far-flung parts of Japan. Like today, and the very wild and somewhat strange neighborhood of Akihabara. 

As with most of their outings, where they ended up was a restaurant. Right was _always_ hungry, somehow. His appetite was near-literally insatiable. Which was a little funny to Kouta, when he thought about the future. Not funny in a laughter way, more funny in a strange way- what would happen if he failed? If Helheim won? If Earth was lost and six billion people had to be killed to save one billion carefully chosen to receive Drivers? Of course, Kouta would do anything to get Right on that short list, if there were no other options. Right and his friends, of course.

That thought made him smile. Maybe the key to beating Helheim was to give Right one of those mass produced Drivers and set him loose on the forest. If all the fruits were turned into Lockseeds and devoured by Right's insatiable need for nutrients, would Helheim be able to continue spreading?

He shook his head, clearing his mind of all of these dark (and not so dark, all told) thoughts. The motion skewed the headband over his hair and he moved one hand to fix it, encountering Right's hand on the way, already moving to adjust the ears for him.

Ears. Cat ears, to be specific. Fluffy fuzzy black cat ears with longer white fur on the insides. 

They'd ended up at a restaurant, as usual. A cafe. To be precise, it was a sort of maid cafe, and as soon as they'd walked in the door, they'd each been handed a set of ears. Right had put his on without question, and Kouta couldn't bring himself to even hesitate very much when Right turned that trillion-watt grin on him. 

Right's matched his hair, too. The same color inside and out, the same russet red. It suited him, somehow. When he smiled, and his eyes curled up into little crescents and his lips twisted into sweet curlicues, he really kind of looked like a cat, even without the ears. 

“I look ridiculous.” Kouta said simply as Right re-positioned the ears to sit more neatly atop his head. 

“No!” Right shook his head, but not with quite as much enthusiasm as he might have usually. He didn't want to screw up his ears, after all. At least, that was what Kouta guessed was the reason. “You look really cute, Kouta. They kind of suit you.”

“I dunno.” Kouta grinned, maybe a little bit sheepish. “I think maybe I'd be cuter if they were floppy.”

“Like dog ears? I guess you are more like a dog than a cat.”

“Oi!” Kouta laughed, leaning away from Right's hand. “Is that supposed to be a compliment!?” 

“Definitely! I love dogs! I love cats. I love animals!”

“You love life.” Kouta pointed out, and Right laughed and snatched up his vibrant drink from the table, offering it to Kouta like a toast.

“I'll drink to that!” 

Not that there was anything alcoholic in those drinks, at least Kouta didn't think so. He couldn't quite tell, and it wasn't as if Right could tell him, but Kouta had a feeling that Right might not be quite old enough to drink legally. Still, the enthusiasm was, as usual, infectious, and he picked up his own drink to meet Right's toast.

“This is really kind of silly, though, isn't it?” 

“That's the general idea.” Right agreed, almost seriously. “You know, Kouta, you don't have nearly enough fun.”

Kouta pursed his lips at him. “Right...”

“I know, I know! I get it, even if I don't really. It's hard, right? Having fun when the whole world is at stake.”

“You should understand that.” Kouta set his drink down and looked up at the waitress as she brought their first course of food. They'd probably be here at least an hour, Right could eat through that entire little menu twice without breaking a sweat, or his stride. “You're fighting for the sake of the world, too.” 

“But that's just it, Kouta, that's all the more reason to have fun while you still can! It gives you energy to do what's right.” He said this so seriously that Kouta almost couldn't argue the point, until he kind of broke his serious stare by opening his mouth hugely wide and shoving _two_ takoyaki into his mouth at once. His eyes widened sharply and he gasped in through his nose and made a high pitched whining sound in his throat, and Kouta found himself laughing so hard that tears came to his eyes.

“A little hot?” He gasped out, and Right managed to swallow, but only so he could turn the world's most pathetic pout on.

“I burned my tongue.” 

“You should be more careful.” Now that he'd had a good laugh, he was ready to continue the conversation. “And anyway, you know, I'm not powered by Imagination like you are.”

“But it works.” Right frowned, then stuck his tongue out to prod at it with his finger, testing the sensitivity of the burn. “It worked for you.”

“It helped _you_. But I don't think imagining myself winning is going to do much.”

“It can't hurt, right?” Right picked up another takoyaki and blew carefully on this one before offering it to Kouta. 

“There's no cost to using your imagination, Kouta. I'm not about to let you lose it. You have enough to see the trains. That's more than enough for me.”


	11. Day 11 - Wearing Kigurumis

Kouta was beginning to think that maybe he should stop trying to guess what Right was going to throw at him every time he came to town, because he never managed to get even close, and sometimes the things Right wanted to do or share were so far out of left field, Kouta couldn't even start to fathom them when he knew, never mind try to guess before hand.

Like today, and the pair of kigurumis Right was holding- a massive tangle of fluffy fabric filling his arms. 

“Isn't it a little ridiculous?” Kouta asked, not for the first time, probably not for the last. 

Right shook his head- predictably. “Not at all! It's cute, cute is really good, Kouta.”

“Was this Kagura's idea too?”

Right at least had the decency and good grace to look a little sheepish as he avoided Kouta's eyes. “I might have mentioned something to her about the maid cafe...” He admitted awkwardly. Kouta nodded, gesturing for him to continue. He was grinning, though, he couldn't help it. Just a little smile, right at the corner of his mouth. Nothing to call home about. 

“And I mentioned how you said you'd feel cuter with floppy dog ears...” Right continued, still avoiding Kouta's gaze, but now with the distraction of untangling the kigus from each other to focus on instead. 

“Right...”

“And she said that would be really cute, and she's not wrong, Kouta! You would be really cute... You're always really cute, but this would be _really_ cute...”

“Back up for a second.” Kouta held up a hand and moved closer, taking the kigus from Right and starting to help him separate them from one another. He couldn't even figure out how they had gotten so hopelessly tied together. Or where they had come from, anyway. “What was that last bit?”

“About, how, this would be _really_ cute?” Right said hopefully, glancing up to finally meet Kouta's eyes. Only just briefly, then a slight flush traced across his cheeks and he looked away again.

Kouta's stomach squeezed, his heart squeezed too. Everything felt... squeezy. Maybe this thing with Right, whatever it was, was getting out of hand, and yet... The idea of saying no, of turning him away, of refusing any of his harebrained schemes or plans or... _dates_... Most of all, the idea of never seeing Right again made Kouta seriously start to edge towards _panic_. 

So he peeled the black kigurumi away from the russet-red one, and shook it out. “Oh, it's really soft.” He pressed one of the ears against his cheek. Right was still blushing, but it was a happy blush, Kouta thought.

“Anyway.” Kouta cleared his throat and started searching the kigu for a zipper or buttons. Right was already stepping into his, having shed his jacket and the shirt he wore tied around his waist. “That wasn't what I meant. I meant right before that... The bit about always cute?”

“Well you are.” Right said this so casually, you could almost forget that the blush on the back of his neck and ears was only getting darker. 

“So are you.” Kouta cleared his throat again, turning away to focus on putting his kigurumi on properly. 

“Okay, turn around!” Right said. Kouta did as asked, and Right spread his arms. 

“You're not a cat!” 

“I couldn't find one the right color.” Right admitted, tugging the hood down over his eyes. “But the red panda is pretty cute, too, right?”

“Maybe even cuter.” Kouta admitted, pulling up his own hood and then spreading his arms and making beckoning motions with both paws. “C'mere.”

Right blinked, then stepped closer, till they were pressed close together, fuzzy chest to fuzzy chest. 

“I want to feel if yours is as soft as mine.” Kouta said softly before leaning in, turning his head to the side and pressing his cheek to Right's chest. Right's heartbeat was steady and comforting, and the red panda kigu really was as soft as the Labrador Kouta was now dressed as. 

Right put his arms carefully around Kouta's waist, holding him close, tilting his head to rest his cheek on the top of Kouta's head.

“Okay, it's ridiculous, but it's not terrible.” Kouta said, though it came out as more of a hoarse sort of whisper. 

He shifted, tilting his head back and looking up. Right looked down and their eyes met. They were very close. Right was taller than Kouta, most people were, especially most men. But the height difference wasn't _that_ drastic, so when Right ducked his head just right and Kouta's head tilted back, their noses nearly touched.

Kouta gasped softly, and Right's eyes crinkled up in that way they always did. Right's grip on Kouta tightened slightly, and with that motion, Kouta rocked up onto his toes, pulled more tightly against Right. Kouta had to remember to tilt his head to one side, just barely, so their lips could meet properly.

The last time they'd gotten this far, it was an accident as Right ran off to go save the world from the evil Shadow Line. Two quick pecks as Right was already as good as running. 

This time it was slow, and Kouta was able to really appreciate how soft Right's lips were, how warm and sweet and careful he was. 

The kiss broke naturally- it wasn't like Kouta had always kind of thought: that one of them would have to make the decision to stop kissing. It just stopped, when they both needed to take a deeper breath. They parted, just a little, and Right pressed his nose a bit more firmly against Kouta's with a little breathless giggle.

“Oh, wow.” His eyes searched Kouta's intently, and he giggled again. “Oh, _wow_. Kouta... You're a _really_ good kisser.”

“Am I?” Kouta swallowed deeply as he rocked back down onto his heels. 

“Have you not kissed anyone else?” Right asked softly. 

“Not... Not like _that_.” Kouta admitted, biting his bottom lip. It still felt warmer than usual, warm like Right's warmth. Sunshine warm. 

“Kouta?” Right's voice was as soft as, no, softer than the silly kigurumis. “Can I kiss you again?”

Kouta couldn't find his throat. It must have temporarily vacated the premises.

So he just nodded.


	12. Day 12 - Making Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place directly following Day 11 - Wearing Kigurumis.

Once they'd started, Right just couldn't stop. It was okay, because he kept stopping to ask, kept pulling back, gasping and breathless and flushed, and gripping Kouta's shoulder or stroking his cheek, and _asking_. 

It was so important, to make sure the game they were playing was something they both wanted to play.

Not that it was a game, of course. Not any more than fighting the Shadow was a game. But some of the concepts were the same, and consent was one of them. You didn't play games with people unless they wanted to play the same game. You didn't force your Imagination on anyone else unless they were willing to play along. It was _important_ , all the time, to make sure that everyone was happy with what was going on. You made plans and agreements ahead of time- who got to be the villains, and who got to be the heroes, and how often people were going to win, and how often bad guys were going to become good guys. You _agreed_.

That was why what the Shadow were doing was so awful. They didn't ask, they just did whatever they want, and people got hurt in the process, and it wasn't fair. 

Right never wanted to hurt anyone. 

So he pulled away once his hands found the zip at the front of Kouta's kigurumi. “Can I?” He asked, swallowing hard. Kouta was beneath him, lying down on the couch, his hands still spread on Right's chest. He was panting, his chest heaving, his eyes kind of glazed but not in a bad way. A happy way, especially with the big smile spread across his face. 

Right straddled him, knees on either side of Kouta's hips, kind of pinning him down, hedging him in. His hands hovered over Kouta's chest. His fingers were tingling, wanting to touch but wanting to make sure first.

He swallowed again. “It's okay if not.” 

“No.” Kouta shook his head, then nodded his head, then shook it again and laughed. “No, it's okay. Really.” 

“You're sure?”

Kouta met his eyes very pointedly. “Absolutely.” 

Right relaxed, just a little bit, and let his hands drop. Now that he had permission, he moved quickly, like he didn't have any time to waste. And he didn't, really, who knew when they were going to be called way- one way or another. Kouta's phone could ring, for an Inves attack. A train whistle could summon Right. Anything could happen. 

He unzipped the kigu and shoved it off to either side, then let his hands drop lower, pushing up under Kouta's shirt. His stomach was firm and warm and he was so _strong_. 

Right leaned down over him again, keeping his fingers spread on Kouta's hips. His lips were aiming for Kouta's but he missed, and he planted his lips on Kouta's forehead instead. His hands crept up a little, spreading to curve around Kouta's bellybutton like punctuation. His mouth shifted, tracing his lips down Kouta's temple and across his cheekbone. 

“You're beautiful.” Kouta whispered, and Right gave up on the slow burn kisses to instead dive right for Kouta's mouth. This time his aim was true, and he swore he could taste those too sweet words lingering on Kouta's lips. 

He broke away, just barely, keeping their mouths so close together that his lips moved against Kouta's, shaping Kouta's mouth into the same shapes. “How dare you be so sweet.” 

“I didn't mean to.” Kouta laughed against Right's mouth and Right couldn't help but kiss him again. 

This time his lips parted, and his tongue traced the bow-like curve of Kouta's upper lip. Kouta's chest shuddered under Right's hands and his mouth opened and Right had a moment of indecision- Kouta hadn't refused anything yet, but what if this was his stopping point? Should he stop and ask, or should he move forward, full speed ahead, and trust Kouta to stop him when he got uncomfortable?

That wasn't fair. It couldn't be only Kouta's decision, or all Kouta's responsibility. Right pulled away again. He even slipped his hands out from under Kouta's shirt, breaking all contact except for where his knees still pinned either side of Kouta's waist. He sat up straight, throwing his head back and taking a few deep, careful breaths. He felt like he was going to burn up, and he took this moment of break to unzip his own kigurumi and let it drape down off his shoulders. 

Everything was very quiet for a moment. A sort of shiver went through Kouta, and Right realized that he was kind of cold too. He wanted to be close to Kouta again, but, damn it. He had to be _sure_.

“Is something wrong?” Kouta asked, and there was a certain tone in his voice that made Right bring his gaze back down. Kouta was biting down hard on his bottom lip. The note Right had heard was _fear_.

“ _No_.” Right shook his head hard. “Nothing is wrong. At least, I hope not. Kouta... This is kind of... This is a lot. And you said you never had with anyone before.”

“You have?”

Right shrugged. He didn't really want to talk about the other people he'd kissed while he was in the middle of kissing Kouta. “That doesn't really matter. What matters is _right now_ , and you, and what you want.” He wet his lips. Kouta's taste was still on them, lingering, warm and fresh and so nice. Not like the other people Right had kissed. Everyone was unique, and he loved that. 

Kouta met his gaze, blinking a few times and his own eyes cleared a little bit. He swallowed once, twice. Right worked very hard to keep his eyes on Kouta's instead of getting distracted by the bob of his throat. 

“Right... You're very important to me.” He said finally, his voice kind of hoarse. “You make me feel good. You always show up when I need you to, and sometimes even when I don't. I like you a lot, Right, and I... Yes. Yes, I want to do this, I want to keep going.” 

“You're absolutely sure?”

Kouta nodded slowly, his mouth spreading slowly into a properly wide grin. Then he reached for Right, slipping his hands up under _Right's_ shirt and spreading his hands on the small of Right's back.

With a little tug, he pulled Right down, and their lips met again. This time, Kouta was the first to open his mouth, and tease Right's lip with his tongue.


	13. Day 13 - Eating Ice Cream

Sometimes Kouta found himself really seriously thinking about Right. Usually it was during those increasingly awkward stretches of time where he didn't see Right at all. It happened, Right could usually only get away from the trains once or twice a week, and the rest of the time Kouta hardly noticed it. He was working, or he'd be called away to fight Inves, then he'd go home and help his sister with chores around the house and making dinner. 

It was usually at night, in his room, staring at the ceiling and _trying_ to fall asleep that his mind would start to wander, and if he caught it wandering too close to the greater picture of Helheim and Yggdrasill and Takatora, well, he'd _never_ get to sleep. So he'd set up mental roadblocks and redirect and divert and detour until his mind landed on less dark and serious thoughts. 

Which almost always ended up with him dwelling on Right. Sometimes on his developing relationship with Right- those were always good nights that ended with Kouta sleeping soundly and waking up the next morning feeling fully refreshed.

But other times, his mind would wander past his own problems and into Right's problems. He should probably really be trying to keep himself from having these thoughts, they weren't any better than his own problems here in Zawame. 

How did you explain amnesia? What had happened, not just to Right, but to all of his friends? Why did they all only remember the same parts of their lives together, and what had happened to the rest of their memories? Having spoken to some of the others a little more, and talked with his friends after they'd met the rest of the ToQgers, Kouta had begun to worry that there was something not quite right about that. 

Obviously- there was something not quite right about amnesia in general.

But it bothered Kouta that they only remembered their childhoods together. And Kouta was _sure_ that it bothered Right too, even if he'd never admit it, never come right out and say it. And even if, as Kouta was beginning to worry, even if they hadn't even known each other any more as adults until they got thrown together without those memories lacking each other... Knowing Right, he just wouldn't care. 

Kouta rolled over with a little sigh, tugging his pillow over his head. He was never going to get to sleep at this rate.

As if to tease him in agreement, he heard a whistle outside his window. Not a human whistle- a train whistle.

_The_ train whistle. 

Kouta was up and out of bed in a flash, half-tripping as he stumbled through putting on his shoes and dashed out the door and downstairs. 

“Kouta! Hey, Kouta!” Right was hanging out of the front window of Diesel, waving widely. The train slowed to a stop with the doors sliding open right in front of Kouta, and he stepped on as naturally as anything. 

He could really get used to this, he thought. Maybe some day, once the Helheim situation had been dealt with, maybe he could just ride around on the trains with the ToQgers until they had dealt with their problems, too. And then...

Well, maybe by then they'd have their memories back. All of them. 

Right squeezed Kouta hard around the middle, knocking the air out of him and shaking him from his thoughts before they managed to traipse down into a dark place. “What's wrong, Kouta? I thought you'd been happy to see me, it's been almost a week already!” 

Kouta gave Right's waist a little squeeze of his own and smiled up at Right, shaking his head. “It's nothing, sorry. Just thinking about some stuff.”

“That's okay.” Right grinned, and peeled away from Kouta, all but his hand where he grabbed Kouta's own and threaded their fingers together. “I can't stay long tonight, we're on our way somewhere and I need to be there when we arrive, but I just wanted to come share something with you.” 

Right dragged Kouta along the train and back through the car Kouta sort of thought of as the entrance car, the one with the doors. The next car back from there was the dining car with the tables, and that was where they stopped. There were two small cartons waiting on one of the tables, and Kouta raised an eyebrow at them.

“What's this?”

“Ice cream!” Right practically squeaked, dragging Kouta clear over the table before finally letting him go, replacing his hand with a spoon. “The station we were at last was in a city that's really well known for it's ice cream, so I bought some extra to come share with you.”

Kouta laughed, picking up one of the cartons thoughtfully. Right had already lifted the other one, tossed the lid away, and was two bites in practically as soon as he'd finished speaking.

“You always think of something.” Kouta mused, digging his spoon into his own ice cream. It was really soft, and not just from sitting on the table for a little while, Kouta guessed. It was just really well made, and smooth. And, Right was correct, it was tasty too. 

Eventually, they slid into the seats at the table, focusing on just sharing space and enjoying the ice cream that Right had brought from who knew where. He only ever knew the names of the station they'd stopped it, sometimes not even that much- sometimes he only remembered the name the station had taken while under the Shadow influence. Either way, it didn't do much to help explain which part of Japan they'd been in.

Kouta looked up after a while. He'd made it through about a fourth of his carton and was starting to feel the pinched brain feeling of eating too much cold stuff too fast. Right, meanwhile, had set down his now empty carton and hand one finger pressed between his eyes, but he was smiling anyway. 

“I don't know how you do that.” Kouta laughed. Right's nose wrinkled, and his mouth twisted a few times before he found an answer.

“Do what?”

“Eat everything in sight?” 

Right laughed, shaking his head. “I'm just hungry all the time. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?”

“No,” Kouta admitted, thinking of his own lack of appetite lately, and how much he wasn't sure if he could or couldn't blame on one Sengoku Ryouma. “I guess there isn't.”

“Are you going to finish that?” Right asked, pointing with his spoon at Kouta's carton of ice cream.

Kouta shook his head, then grabbed it and scooted it out of Right's reach anyway with a little smirk.

“You can have it for a kiss.”

Right's smile stretched wider and he leaned forward over the table, hands planted.

“You're on.”

For once, Right's lips and tongue weren't too warm, didn't make Kouta feel like he was going to burn up. 

In fact, they were practically cold. And it felt good.


	14. Day 14 - Genderswapping

“ _How_ does something like this even _happen_ , though?”

Right laughed, and Kouta actually winced a little bit- partly because his own voice was extremely jarring at the moment, partly because Right's _laugh_ was so high pitched, and as casual as he was obviously _trying_ to be, it didn't seem to be working out, because there was something just a shade too frantic about the little cackle. 

“There does always seem to be something, huh?” He asked. 

His laugh might have ended up somehow very much noticeably higher pitched, but his speaking voice hadn't changed too much. What was missing, Kouta realized, was a sort of vibration in his throat. He hadn't even realized that was the sort of thing that made a voice sound more masculine, but apparently so.

Kouta flopped back into the seat and placed his head down on the table. “This is kind of a disaster, Right.” He said... Whined, really. His voice had lost it's growl too, he realized, that was why it sounded so weird. He sat up again and tried to _make_ himself make his usual sort of boyish growling sounds, but it all sounded stilted and awkward. 

“This is too much.” He continued, flopping over onto the table once more. 

“It's alright, Kouta. It's my fault, so I'll take care of it. It seems like if we beat the Shadow Kaijin, anything they've done to anyone will... stop. Or reverse itself.” He sat down across the table from Kouta, crossing his legs demurely. Kouta caught that much under the table, and he found himself blushing a little when he sat up to meet Right's eyes.

“You don't even look any different.” He said accusingly. “At least not much different. I mean, you have the chest now... And your voice sounds a little different, and your throat but generally...”

“Well, I guess I'm just sort of pretty to begin with.” Right agreed casually enough, but his blush noticeably darkened, especially across his cheeks. Which was weird, because normally Right's embarrassed blush spread across the back of his neck instead. Could that be because of this situation they were in? Was being a girl for the day making it so he blushed differently?

And, an even better question, was whether Kouta would have to deal with the same sort of thing. That could very quickly become compromising, maybe. 

“Why didn't your hair even get longer?” Kouta asked after a quiet moment. He pulled the long braid that Right had helped him with over his shoulder and waved the end of it in Right's face. “Mine did. And my... I just... I got shorter, too, and you didn't. I don't understand. It's like there's no consistency at all!” 

Right frowned a little, then shrugged. “Maybe I started off more like a girl to begin with.”

Kouta blinked at him. It was a weird theory, but it made about as much sense as anything else today. He'd already had to call home and tell his sister he wasn't sure when he'd be home, and call Bandou-san and tell him that he had to _stay_ home, and hope and pray that neither of them would decide to try and check up on him, because he wasn't in Zawame at all anymore.

Diesel was chasing after the Shadow that had attacked them with some strange beam that had turned them both into women. 

Kouta had to admit that Right was probably... right. About defeating the Shadow and how that would turn them back to normal.

It was easy for Right to think, though, because he clearly wasn't having any problem adjusting to being a girl. Kouta _was_ , and it made him feel bad that he wasn't particularly taking it well. 

“Kouta.” Right chastised him softly. “You're dwelling. Don't dwell. It's going to work out, okay?”

Kouta smiled weakly and nodded his head. He had to believe, in Right if not in himself. 

Then he laughed, a slow laugh that started deep in his stomach and then crept up his chest to catch in his throat as a really awkward little wheezing giggle. 

Right was smiling at him. “What is it? What's so funny?”

“I just can't... You're right.” Kouta gasped out between chuckles. “It's not the end of the world, it's just a minor inconvenience, and once we get it all fixed it'll be no problem.” He paused, taking a deep breath, calming down considerably. “But when I relax and let it go... It strikes me just how truly ridiculous this is. How impossible... And it's funny!” 

Right laughed, and Diesel's whistle went of three times very quickly and so it sort of felt like the train was laughing too.

“I guess this isn't the sort of thing your Inves could do, huh?”

“No, I don't think. Though maybe...” He considered Professor Ryouma briefly, wondered if the man would ever play around with something ridiculous. He pursed his lips, tilted his head, and decided that, yeah, if he could figure out a way to do it, the Professor would probably gladly go around changing guys into girls, and probably girls into guys too. Though Kouta hadn't seen any evidence of the Shadow doing _that_ , it had to be possible, right? Unless the idea was just to turn the entire population of Japan into women. That could cause some darkness, he guessed. 

Diesel's whistle blew again, just once this time but longer, and Kouta felt the train start to slow down. Right jumped up and dashed for the door, digging his Changer out of his pocket and slapping it onto his wrist.

“Come on, Kouta! Jiichan must have found the Shadow!”

Kouta scrambled out of his seat and followed Right to the door, putting his Driver on as he went. He was glad at least that his Driver still worked- so being a girl hadn't changed his DNA, at least.

Diesel screeched to a stop, the doors slid open, and Right vaulted out, turned a neat somersault in the air, and landed at a run, slotting his Ressha into the Changer as he went.

“ToQ Change!” 

The Shadow was waiting, and as it turned around Kouta could tell that it was not expecting to see them coming after it. And there was no where for it to run, as Diesel lay track in a circle, hemming them all in within the white lines. 

Kouta attached the Lockseed to the Driver with a rushed “Henshin!”, and as the orange armor came down, he caught a glimpse of Right engaging the kaijin. 

And, he noted with a grin, his suit had a skirt now.


End file.
